Babysitting Saturday Night
by AkinaNe
Summary: Kensi agreed to babysit Sam's kids–with Deeks along to help. Tag to "Resurrection"
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So this is my first fanfic! Exciting yet scary! I've only seen about a dozen episodes of NCIS:LA and am absolutely obsessed with it (or at least am getting there ;) ) Since this is my first fanfic, I apologize for any OOC or non-canon stuff. I love critiques so go ahead and review! (You were going to anyways, right? ;) )  
Thanks to my friend, Samantha! You are awesome and I appreciate all the help! She helped me edit this whole thing and fixed all my grammar mistakes–any she didn't catch are my fault.

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: Los Angeles or any of its characters. Sam's kids are a mixture of info from the show and my own ideas.

Enjoy!

* * *

Kensi sighed as she watched Sam's son sleeping. She'd made it to bedtime; that counted as a victory, right?

Okay, so she'd fed the boy ice cream for dinner… but only because he wouldn't stop screaming as she'd given him his veggies. At least it wasn't her fault that Sam's daughter had fallen off the trampoline and scraped her arms, hands and knees. Sure, she was supposed to be keeping an eye on her but…

Kensi sighed again. At least Deeks was going down with her.

"Kensi?" A small voice asked from the door.

Kensi spun around to see Sam's daughter clutching a teddy bear to her chest. "You're supposed to be asleep." _Why aren't you asleep?!_

"I want a story."

"A story?" There was no reason for her to refuse. She could handle reading a story to her, no biggie. "Fine, but in bed."

The girl nodded and dutifully returned to her room as Kensi followed. As she hopped into bed Kensi scanned the bookshelves. "Which one do you want?"

"You tell me one. One about a princess. I already know all the stories in my books."

Kensi bit her lip. Storytelling wasn't an area she was well-versed in… and she could hardly recount a case for the girl. She didn't really have much choice though. She moved over to the bed sitting down on the mattress. "Alright… Once upon a time there was a princess named-"

"Kensi," the girl interrupted. "Her name was Kensi. It's a pretty name."

Kensi smiled. "Thank you." She paused as she tried to think where to go next. Why were all the childhood stories she knew slipping out of her head?

"A dragon came," prompted the girl.

"A dragon came," echoed Kensi, silently thankful. "A large red one with scarlet flames. One day, the dragon came so close to the palace that the king ran into the princess's room and told her they needed to escape."

At least the girl was listening with rapt attention. That hopefully meant she didn't hate it.

"The whole palace packed up to flee to nearby caves but the princess didn't want to run. Instead, she decided that she would try talking to the dragon. So she rode off on her noble horse."

"Unicorn," the girl corrected with a frown. "Princesses ride unicorns, not horses."

"Who's telling this story? You or me?" Unicorn or horse—did it matter?

Sam's daughter sighed. "You," she admitted and gathered the teddy bear to her chest again.

Kensi gave a nod and continued, with the princess on the unicorn. "So the princess and her unicorn confronted the dragon. 'Why are you scaring all the people away?' she asked. The dragon replied, 'Because I'm lonely.' The princess thought about this, then said, 'I'll be your new friend, so don't be lonely.'"

Kensi thought she saw a shadow flicker at the edge of her vision but when she turned to look no one was there. _Just imagining things_, she thought, and continued.

"Since the princess could hardly leave her friend behind, when she returned to the castle, it was with the dragon flying high over head." Seeing Sam's daughter's eyes droop, Kensi took the excuse to finish quickly. She was way out of her element.

"The king had refused to leave without his daughter and was overjoyed to see her alive. Quickly, she explained to him that they had nothing to fear from her new friend. The king soon accepted the dragon and they all lived happily ever after. The end."

Kensi rose to leave, glad the ordeal was over.

"Wait! What about a prince?" The girl asked sleepily. "His name is Prince Deeks," she added with a yawn.

"Uh… Prince Deeks was so impressed with Princess Kensi's bravery that he-"

"Proposed, they got married and lived happily ever after," Sam's daughter finished with a smile and cuddled deeper under the blankets.

"Right," agreed Kensi with a wince. Not quite what she was going to say. As she slowly walked to the door she heard a quiet, tired voice rise in chant.

"Kensi and Deeks, sitting in a tree, K-I…" her voice trailed off. Kensi breathed a sigh of relief (she did _not_ want to think about her and Deeks up a tree k-i-whatever) and stepped out into the hallway.

"…S-S-I-N-G," a voice said right next to her ear. Kensi jumped, stifling a shriek.

"Deeks!"

"First comes love," he continued with a lazy smile, looking perfectly comfortable leaning against the wall, standing on the top step of the stairs. "Then comes-"

"Do _not_ say marriage," Kensi warned.

Deeks mouthed several words to himself, then pouted. "No other word fits, _Princess_ Kensi." His mouth quirked up at the end and Kensi wondered how much effort he was putting into not laughing.

"You were listening." It wasn't so much of a question as a statement of despair.

"The whole thing," he drawled.

Kensi groaned. The only thing worse than having to create a cheesy, all-been-done-before, princess story was Deeks hearing her tell the cheesy, all-been-done-before, princess story.

Deeks seemed immune to her unease. With a short bow, he motioned down the stairs. "Our popcorn awaits us."

Kensi shot him a look as they went down the stairs. "You made popcorn?"

"Yup."

Kensi rolled her eyes. He refused to help her cook for the kids ("Haven't you played house before, Kens? The girl does the cooking.") but magically knew how to work the microwave when it came to his own food.

His words caught up with her. "Wait, popcorn? Where'd you get that?" He hadn't brought anything with him.

Deeks shrugged, moving into the kitchen. "I found it in the cupboards."

"Deeks! You can't go digging around other people's kitchens!"

"Sam said help yourself."

"No, he didn't. You weren't even here when he left." She put her hands on her hips, ready to stare him down.

He looked back at her, eyebrow raised in defiance. "He should've said it."

She shook her head at him. "And she calls you a prince." Kensi motioned with her head to the staircase behind them.

"I find myself very princely," Deeks said with wounded pride.

Kensi studied him, cocking her head to the side and crossed her arms, completing the picture of contemplation. "I guess you _do_ have the arrogant-ego part down."

His eyes narrowed. "You're hardly a princess either," he shot back.

"Excuse me?"

He motioned to her. "What princess wears jeans and shoots a gun on a regular basis?"

Before she could protest bringing her job into this, he continued, "And you need to work on your political schmoozing."

"My political schmoozing?"

"Calling people arrogant isn't good politics."

She wasn't sure if she should admit that he was right or keep up the façade of annoyance.

"Look," he said, eyes softening. "You want some or not?" He held out the bowl.

She looked at it for a long time before taking a handful. It smelled too good to pass up.

The pair made their way over to the sofa and collapsed; debating how mad Sam would be if they used his TV. Deeks won the mental debate and flipped the set on. He surfed the channels, stopping on a "How I Met Your Mother" rerun. As the show faded to commercial he said, "You know, we make pretty good babysitters."

Kensi rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, I guess we do."


	2. Chapter 2

The popcorn had been finished long ago and the bowl sat alone on the kitchen counter. The living room had grown cozy with the lights set on dim and the TV slowly changing between show and commercial.

Kensi sat curled on the sofa, feet tucked neatly beneath her. Deeks, next to her, was stretched out, his head just clearing the top of the couch. Neither were really watching the television, each lost in their own thoughts.

_Kensi rang the doorbell, bouncing lightly on her toes. Her stomach gave another twang and she let out a sharp breath. Give her a good shoot-out any day over this._

_Sam opened the door and she smiled brightly. "Hey! Is Deeks here yet?"_ _She stepped into the entry hall and wondered if it was her imagination that Sam winced at the name._

_"Nope." Sam gave her a hard look. "You sure you're cool with this?"_

_"Yeah," she said as her mind screamed no._

_Sam gave up on searching her mind. "Dinner's in the fridge; I'll have my phone on. The kids are coloring." His daughter waved from the living room, crayon in hand._

_A honk from outside had Sam out the door. "Bedtime's at 8:30. See ya."_

_"Bye. Tell Callen I say hi." She smiled a smile that she hoped was reassuring—she could handle this, no big deal— until the door shut. She turned slowly to stare at the boy and girl._

_"What are you drawing?" she asked cautiously, trying to peer over the girl's shoulder without seeming obvious about it._

_The girl looked up and pushed the paper over so Kensi could see it better. There was a stick figure dressed in a poofy pink dress and a crown of giant jewels. The princess was standing in the middle of a hall that, Kensi assumed, was a castle. "It's a princess story."_

_Kensi nodded, unsure of what to say. Princesses had never really been her style. She was saved from having to make a comment when the girl asked for a glass of water._

_Kensi did so, eager to have something to do. It was finally sinking into her head that she was alone, in a house, with two kids under the age of ten. Her nerves were definitely tingling now._

_As she returned, she threw a desperate glance at the door. Where was Deeks? He should've been here by now. What if something happened? _

If something happens then you'll deal with it_, she told herself sternly. But her anxious side wasn't swayed so easily. _What if they hurt themselves?_ her nerves whispered. _With what?_ her rational mind responded. _A crayon?

_Either way, she almost gave a shout of joy when the doorbell rang. She tried to take her time opening the door, but somehow the message from her brain didn't get to her arm and she yanked the door open with enough force to surprise Deeks, who paused in mid-whistle._

_"Everything alright?" he asked, separating the syllables slowly, eyes wide in surprise._

_"Where were you?" she snapped. "You're late! You're my partner. I need you."_

_"Words I've been waiting to hear you say since the day we met," Deeks responded with a grin as he walked in._

_Kensi just gave him a look. "_Not_ like that. What if one of them had hurt themselves? What would I have done then?" Somehow she wasn't able to get her mouth to shut up._

_Deeks rolled his eyes and hung his coat over the banister of the stairs. "You're a capable adult who also happens to be an NCIS agent. I'm sure you would've figured something out." He finally glanced at the kids. "God, Kensi. They're _coloring_. What in the world could they do? Give themselves a paper cut? You'd think they were playing with matches."_

_It was exactly the same thing as she'd thought to herself, but hearing it from Deeks made it seem a little more real. She sighed as she watched him flop down next to the two kids. How had she gotten herself into this? With Deeks here, it might turn into watching three kids, not two._

_"Hey, can I have a piece of paper?" Deeks asked Sam's daughter with a grin._

_She stared at him. "Who's he?" she asked Kensi pointedly, staring at Deeks._

_"His name is Deeks. Feel free to treat him like a puppy." That earned her a look from Deeks._

_The girl considered him for a few seconds. "Will he play dolls with me?"_

_"No dolls!" screamed the little boy, kicking his legs for good measure. The girl just rolled her eyes._

_"Will he?" she asked again._

_Kensi fought a wicked smile and failed miserably. "Of course he will. Deeks absolutely _loves_ dolls."_

_His smile slowly faded from his face._

Kensi had to shake her head at herself. She had given him up to the dogs without a second thought. But it had been worth it. To see Deeks having a tea party, handling a doll in a pink ballroom gown, was definitely the highlight of the evening. She chuckled remembering his high-pitched voice.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head, not wanting to ruin the peace between them.

"C'mon." He elbowed her gently. "Tell me." At her continued resistance, he sat up and tugged her ponytail. "I want to know!"

She couldn't keep it in any longer and started laughing. It felt good after the stress of the evening. "I just, I can't believe you actually played dolls with her!"

She could tell he was fighting a smile, too. "Glad it amused you to this degree," he grumbled.

"You liked it. Admit it." She poked him in the shoulder. "Admit it! You played with dolls when you were little."

He held up a finger to stress the point. "They were _action figures_. Not dolls, action figures." But he fell back into the couch gently, letting Kensi have her fun.

"They're the same thing."

"Not true."

She rolled her eyes. "They're dolls for boys with another name."

He seemed willing to concede her point. "Let me guess: you never played with dolls?"

She looked away. "Once or twice… but not religiously."

"You were more of a tree climber."

Kensi grinned, remembering the summer days she'd spend going from tree to tree in her backyard. "I could beat some of the boys," she admitted.

Deeks shook his head and leaned back again. "Why am I not surprised?" But he took her hand and laced his fingers through hers.

To say she was surprised was a bit of an understatement. She looked at their hands as if they were two alien beings she'd never encountered before. When she snuck a glance at Deeks, his eyes were shut, totally at ease. But then again, it wasn't the first time he'd held her hand. Not even the first time that day…

_Sam's daughter was jumping ever higher on the mini trampoline, yelling out the count after each spring. "Fifteen… sixteen…"_

_Kensi leaned against the house, her eyes following each bounce. Glancing at Deeks, she was glad he'd wanted to get as far away from the memory of playing dolls as was possible. Keeping Sam's son from trouble seemed like the harder job by far. The boy kept trying to find new ways to get to the front yard, also known as the forbidden place. Like any boy, he couldn't stay away._

_"Twenty!"_

_Deeks swung the boy up—again—into his arms. "That's it," he said. "We're going inside."_

_He began to walk over to Kensi, smiling wide and opened his mouth to say something._

_"Twenty-thr—AHHHHHHHH!"_

_Kensi saw Deeks eyes widen at the same time as she heard the scream. She turned in a flash, reaching for a non-existent gun, to see Sam's daughter fall from the trampoline and skid across the ground. There was silence for a moment as her brain processed what had happened before the nerves started firing._

_And the crying shriek began._

_Kensi stood there, shocked and unmoving. It was as if her mind had forgotten how to work. She wasn't thinking anything and her muscles remained frozen in place._

_Then Deeks was there, shoving a surprised boy into her arms. She automatically held him to her chest but she could only watch as Deeks rushed to the girl._

_"Shh, you're okay, you're okay. Let's get you inside. You're okay." Slowly he coaxed the girl up and helped her hobble back into the house as tears streamed down her face. He sent a quick glance at Kensi, then vanished into the house._

_Kensi woke up as he disappeared from view through the back door. Had she really just stood there, frozen to the spot?_

_She was so pissed at herself that she almost forgot about the boy in her arms. He looked up at her, eyes wide. He didn't fully comprehend what had happened— Deeks had rushed him to Kensi too fast for him to see anything clearly._

Move it, Kens_, and she prodded herself into action. "Let's go get started with dinner." She sounded a lot more cheerful than she felt. "How does that sound?" She carried him back into the house and into the kitchen. She had a feeling that somehow, somewhere, she'd lost part of the mothering gene._

Kensi squeezed Deeks' hand, remembering the moment. What had been wrong with her? She'd just stood there. What happened to the capable, trained agent— the one who knew what to do, how to react, in an emergency situation? It had all just gone away, leaving her standing there like an idiot.

She wondered if she'd forgive herself. Maybe it wasn't really such a big thing… but it was Sam's kid; and she was a woman. Wasn't she supposed to have super powerful maternal instincts?

But honestly, this was why she didn't like kids: the potential accidents. It was hard enough seeing adults get hurt, shot in work, but to see it happen to kids? She pressed herself back against the couch and closed her eyes. At least this time it had turned out okay.

_Deeks helped the girl into the bathroom and sat her on the edge of the tub. After the initial storm of tears she'd quieted down, but the occasional sob still fought its way through._

_"You'll be okay," he murmured, grabbing a paper cup from the stack next to the sink. He flipped the tub's water on and slowly rinsed off the dirt and gravel, trying to ignore the way she gasped each time the water hit her scraped knees, hands and forearms._

_They really weren't too bad, but Deeks know from his days of finding trouble that scrapes stung like hell. Besides that, he was pretty sure the worst part for her had been the surprise and terror of falling._

_"Do you know where the hydrogen peroxide is?" He hoped he wouldn't be forced to dig through every cabinet to find it._

_"The stinging stuff in the—the brown bottle?" she asked, gasping as he poured another wave of cold water over her knees._

_Deeks nodded. That stuff._

_"In the upper shelf." She nodded to the cabinets behind Deeks. He opened the first one: mainly towels and linens. The second one had several wire baskets filled with first-aid material. It didn't take him long to locate the bottle and wrestle it out of the spot it clung to. He snagged a couple big Band-Aids as well._

_He unscrewed the cap. "Ready?" he asked. "Close your eyes. On three."_

_She nodded and closed her eyes._

_"One," he said and began to pour._

_She hissed as the liquid fizzed against the sensitive sting. She opened her eyes and gave Deeks a little glare. "You need to learn to count."_

_Deeks laughed. He should've expected Sam's daughter to be a little, well, like Sam. "Knowing when it comes just makes it worse. I won't count this time, promise," he added as she took a deep breath, ready to give him a talking-to._

_"Ready?" he asked again, and slowly poured more of the peroxide over her forearms and knees. "Smart not to land on your hands," he noticed. "You could've broken a wrist."_

_She nodded thoughtfully, watching as the liquid dried on her skin. "Daddy taught me how to fall. I'm not the best at it yet."_

_"Better than I could do at your age." He ruffled her hair gently as he put the bottle away. When he came back, she had already bandaged her knees._

_"Can you do my arms?" she asked quietly, holding them out. Her tears had disappeared, the pain forgotten with time._

_"No problem." He stuck them on quickly. "I think Kensi's making dinner, if you're hungry."_

_She nodded. "I need to wash my hands first," she said, proud that she remembered, without any assistance, the importance of this ritual._

_Deeks smiled and tilted his head towards the sink. As she washed her hands he finally had a moment to think._

Kensi.

_He hadn't ever seen her like that before: just frozen where she stood, a look of horror on her face. Sure, Sam wouldn't be happy when he found out, but it didn't constitute that much fear. He smiled at his joke, but it quickly slipped away. He knew that wasn't the reason, but he wasn't sure what was._

_Maybe the idea of a crying kid she had to take care of just frightened her off. He could easily imagine her getting flustered, unsure of what to do. Honestly, he didn't quite understand her aversion to them. He thought they were fun._

_He had to grin, imagining her response: "That's because you have the maturity level of a kid."_

_Sam's daughter was done and Deeks followed her downstairs, letting her run into the dining room first so that he wasn't tempted to scare Kensi by pretending it was worse than it actually was._

_Then again… maybe he didn't have to. In front of the boy was a gigantic bowl of ice cream. Leaning against the counter, head in her hands, was Kensi._

_"Why does he get ice cream?" the girl asked loudly. "He's supposed to have leftovers, like me." She motioned to her plate._

_The boy began screaming. "Ice Cweam! Ice Cweam!"_

_"Be quiet!" she snapped. Turning to Deeks, "Can I have ice cream for dessert?"_

_He nodded and she turned happily back to her food. His eyes went back to Kensi who was looking up at him from where she stood, hair pushed back by her hands. "He was screaming and I couldn't make him shut up," she whispered._

_He went to stand beside her. "I guarantee you're his favorite babysitter now."_

_She stood up, but kept her eyes looking down. "I fed him ice cream! For dinner! You know what Sam's gonna do to me?"_

_"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." It didn't draw out the smile he was hoping for._

_"Hey." He took her hand from the counter. "It's just some ice cream. It's not the end of the world."_

_She glanced up, and he caught her eyes with his own. There was a whirl of panic and guilt within them and somehow, he instantly knew the cause._

_"She's fine," he whispered. "Just some scrapes and a scare."_

_She shook her head and tore her hand from his. "I just stood there, Deeks! I froze up! If you hadn't been there…if it had just been me…what if she'd broken something and I just stood there…"_

_He grabbed her hand again and held on tight, not letting her escape from his hold. "But I was there and she didn't break any bones and even if I hadn't been there, you would've helped her. You wouldn't have just stood there. You would've gone into crazy ninja assassin mode and helped her. I know you, Kensi. I know you wouldn't have let her lie there in pain, no matter how small."_

_Deeks knew he wasn't saying this very artfully and he wasn't sure he was getting his point across, but the ninja assassin part teased a smile out of her. He squeezed her hand one last time and let go. "If it makes you feel better, I don't think she even noticed."_

_Kensi shrugged. "I did." But she looked more relaxed, so he just grinned at her and got out the ice cream for dessert._

_"Deeks," she set bowls and spoons out on the counter, "Thanks—for taking care of her and…" Her voice trailed off._

_He rapped her gently in the head. "We're partners. No thanks needed."_

How had it suddenly become that Deeks comforting her and taking her hand didn't cause her to start throwing up the walls again? She wasn't sure when the change had started, and she wasn't altogether sure if she wanted it to go back to the way it was.

Her thoughts were coming slower now and she was having trouble keeping her eyes closed. Honestly, she wasn't even sure what they were watching any more.

She was beginning to gravitate towards him. Somewhere she knew it wasn't the best idea, but she couldn't stop. She slumped against him, head on his shoulder. He readjusted under her weight and squeezed her hand gently, then leaned his head against hers.

"You know I didn't mean it earlier, right?" His voice was quiet and barely made its way through Kensi's sleep-soaked brain.

"Hmmm?"

"Earlier. When I said you weren't a princess."

"I'm not."

He was silent for a few beats. "You'll always be a warrior princess to me."

She would've smiled if it hadn't required so much energy. "Do warrior princesses even exist?" It was little more than breath.

"You exist," he whispered. And she faded out into darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Kensi struggled to wake up. She wasn't sure what, but something had made a noise and her sleeping mind had the sense that it didn't belong. With a gasp she sat up, eyes flying open to land on—Sam.

She shook her head to clear it and looked again. He was holding a phone and somehow she knew that the sound had been the click of the camera.

She only then realized how close she was sitting next to Deeks (still asleep) and how their hands were still holding each other. God, had they fallen asleep like this?

Sam was smiling, his fingers moving as he sent a text. "Hey," he said.

"Give me that." She grabbed the phone out of his hand and flipped it over to look at it. A text to Callen was up on the screen with a photo of her, head on Deeks' shoulders, his against the back of the couch, both with a little smile and their hands clasped loosely in each others. (It was a very telling photo and, if Kensi was being honest, sweet.) The text said:

Blackmail material?

Callen texted back as she held the phone:

Perfect.

Then:

Not to say I told u so… but I warned u

not to let them play house

while u weren't there to watch 'em ;)

Sam grabbed his phone back. "You want me to send you a copy?"

Kensi just glared and took her phone out of her back pocket, rapidly sending a text to Callen:

We were NOT playing house

To which he pleasantly responded:

Hey, Kensi. Have a nice night? ;)

She growled and stuffed the phone back into her jeans. She had the feeling they wouldn't stop taunting her about the photo for some time. She glanced over to Deeks to see how he was reacting and realized he hadn't even woken up yet.

"Wake up, idiot. It's time to go." She punched him in the shoulder, resulting in a groan from a blurry-eyed Deeks. Her phone vibrated and, guessing from Sam's smile, it was a copy of the picture. Secretly, she was glad to have one.

"How'd it go?" Sam asked, arms crossed.

Deeks blinked a couple times. "Kensi fed your son ice cream for dinner."

Kensi's mouth fell open.

Sam turned his gaze onto her.

She swallowed. _Thanks, Deeks._ "He wouldn't stop screaming. It won't happen again, promise, but there was a…" she cut off, not wanting to tell Sam about how she'd indirectly injured his daughter and that's why she fed his son ice cream. Then again, better to get it over with. "But in my defense we were dealing with a little emergency. Your daughter fell from the trampoline and she scraped herself up…" She trailed off again and sank down into the cushions from Sam's scary look.

"She'll be perfectly fine," Deeks added. "I got her cleaned up."

"_You_ did?"

Kensi and Deeks were saved from answering why Deeks had taken care of it by a small girl's voice saying, "Daddy!" from the stairs. She ran into the room and into Sam's arms.

Kensi glanced at Deeks and nodded towards the door. Deeks nodded in agreement and they rose from the couch in sync.

Sam stood at the door, watching the two babysitters leave, with his daughter in his arms. She was happily chatting away about her night, but her words were coming slower and slower as she drifted off again.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can Kensi and Deeks babysit again?"

He raised his eyebrows. She'd never asked for a babysitter to come for a second time before. "I guess…" So much for keeping Deeks away from his kids. "Did you have a fun time?"

She nodded against his shoulder. "Kensi told me a story. She's really nice. And Deeks fixed my scrapes," she said, showing her arm to him, "and he played dolls with me."

_What?_ "Dolls?" He tried to keep his tone even, but he could hear the twinge of amused shock.

"Uh-huh. He played Louisa. She's the one in the pink dress," she added, knowing her father couldn't keep her dolls straight.

Sam shook with laughter. Deeks wasn't getting away with this one. Oh no, in fact, Sam was pretty sure what to get him for his next birthday. As he carried his daughter back upstairs, he smiled. Next time, he'd get his daughter, or Kensi, to take a picture.

They walked out together. As soon as Kensi heard the thud of the door closing, she turned on Deeks. "I thought we weren't telling him about the ice cream!"

Deeks shrugged. "You woke me up!"

"Because I needed backup!"

"For what?" He looked at her blankly and she realized he had no idea about the picture. Her cheeks heated up, and she looked away.

"Nothing."

Now she had his interest. "What? What? Come on—tell me! Kens!"

"Nothing!"

She felt her phone get pulled out of her pocket. "Deeks!"

He danced a few steps back, frowning at the lock screen. He tried a couple combinations before getting the right one—randomly, she hoped. Her phone opened to the message from Sam containing the picture.

He smiled. "Now why didn't you want to tell me about this?"

She turned and walked the last few feet to her car and yanked it open. Deeks came up behind her and slammed it shut. "It's a nice picture," he said, handing back her phone, still grinning like crazy. She wasn't sure what he found so amusing about it.

She glanced down at it again, leaning against the car. He joined her, leaning next to her. "Uh-huh." The truth was: it was sweet, almost adorable. Okay, completely adorable.

"You look happy."

"You make a good pillow." She bit her tongue. Had she just said that?

He laughed. He seemed about to say something else when he pushed off the car. "Send me a copy of that, will you?" He walked down to the street where his car was parked, whistling.

What was with everyone wanting a copy of the photo?

"'Night, Deeks!" she called and opened her door, sending him the photo with her other hand.

"'Night, Kens!" She saw him wave, then slipped into her car. She sat there for a few minutes, enjoying the silence. Watching the lights flicker on and off upstairs in Sam's house, she sighed. Despite the many things that had gone wrong, it had been fun. And, she told herself truthfully, if Sam asked her to babysit again, she was pretty certain that she would say yes. Plus, playing house with Deeks had a few pros. She smiled down at the picture.

_"You'll always be a warrior princess to me."_

_"Do warrior princesses even exist?"_

_"You exist."_

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Any comments/critiques and I'd love to hear them 3 Hope you enjoyed!


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